1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of delivering a substance into a material mass. This is not a mere topical application of the substance to the surface(s) of the material mass but, rather, penetration depth-wise into the mass and beyond the surface(s).
2. Description of the Related Art
Often in many industries such as concrete or metal reinforcement, there is a need to add strengthening chemicals throughout the interior of an object. Unfortunately, adding chemicals throughout the interior of a solid structure such as a concrete wall is often difficult because of the dense nature of the object and, accordingly, often only the exterior portions of the object receive the necessary treatment.
In order to overcome these difficulties and introduce chemicals to the interior of a dense material mass, holes may be drilled to the interior of the object. Drilling holes, however, is not appropriate for many objects, including antique articles or structures, because the holes themselves may reduce the structural integrity of the object, potentially leading to premature decay or detracting significantly from the appearance of the object. Moreover, even if holes are drilled into an object, strengthening chemicals will penetrate only as far as, and to the areas in communication with, the holes. Furthermore, due to the fast reacting nature of many strengthening chemicals, such chemicals are not able to be fully absorbed by the object before hardening.
In addition to industries in which dense objects need to be reinforced, the rapid and/or selective absorption of substances into material masses would be highly beneficial for other uses such as treating wood, deep cleansing material masses, introducing nutrients into plant structures, or any other application which requires rapid and directed absorption of a substance into a material mass.
The delivery method of the present invention is designed precisely to overcome many shortcomings found in existing methods of delivering necessary substances into material masses quickly. The present invention takes advantage of both the unique effects of magnetic induction which it is believed effects a linear molecular organization of a fluid substance to enhance its permeability (i.e., the ability of the fluid substance to penetrate) into a material mass, and the naturally attractive forces between substances which have been polarized to opposite charges by magnetic influences, in order to achieve rapid and complete penetration and absorption of such fluid substances into material masses of varying densities.
The purpose and function of magnetic inducement in the present invention is specifically directed to the rearrangement of fluid molecules from an agglomerated state to a more linear and organized state. As a result of this linear molecular organization produced by a magnetic influence, the fluid's permeability into a material mass is greatly enhanced, and penetration of the fluid through the surface and periphery of the material mass occurs much more readily than if the fluid's molecular organization had remained in an agglomerated state.
The magnetic influence utilized in the present invention not only makes the fluid more permeable by effecting a linear organization of its molecules, which is a critical feature of the present invention, but also serves to facilitate the assimilation of such fluids throughout the interior of the material mass. This is accomplished by polarizing two fluids to opposite charges with magnetic influences of opposite polarities. As a result, the naturally attractive forces between the oppositely charged fluids increases the rate of absorption of the second fluid to be introduced into the material mass and ensures that the absorption of this second fluid is directed throughout the interior of the material mass.
An additional advantage of fluid polarization effected by a magnetic influence instead of electrostatic means is that the positive polarity of the fluid molecules will be increased, thereby increasing the spaces between the individual fluid molecules through greater repellency. As a result of this increased positive polarity, the fluid molecules are separated to a greater extent so that the molecules are able to penetrate individually, rather than collectively, into a given material mass, thereby significantly enhancing the permeability of the fluid.
In addition, because fluid molecules positively charged by a magnetic influence become more separated, chemically reactive agents that are added to the fluids (which serve as carrier vehicles) attain a more uniform distribution amongst the fluid molecules. After the carrier fluids and chemically reactive agents therein are introduced into the material mass, the more uniform dispersion of the chemical agents in the carrier fluids results in an acceleration of the normal reaction time of such chemically reactive agents within the interior of the material mass.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,437 to Brown et al. discloses a method and apparatus for impregnating multi-filament strands in which impregnating particles are charged to one polarity, and the individual fibers or filaments of the strand are charged to an opposite polarity, in order to cause the particles to be attracted and adhere to the individual fibers of the strand, i.e., topical application to the filament surfaces of the strand, some of which filament surfaces are exteriorly accessible along the strand and the accessibility of the filament surfaces may be enhanced as by partially unwinding a twisted bundle of filaments comprising a strand. Brown utilizes electrostatic generating means to charge the impregnating particles and strand fibers to opposite polarities. The purpose and result of the polarization created by the Brown process is solely to produce a mutual electrostatic attraction and bond between the oppositely charged impregnating particles and individual fibers of the strand such that the particles impregnate the strand by contacting and adhering to the surface of each individual fiber thereof. The method of the Brown invention is intended to provide a topical application of the impregnating particles onto the individual fibers for coating the surfaces thereof, and acts upon a multi-filament strand that is not a unified solid structure but rather a plurality of separable individual filaments. The Brown patent does not disclose that its method produces a penetration of charged particles through the surface and into the interior of the individual fiber structures themselves. Moreover, the Brown patent neither teaches nor suggests that its method is intended to accomplish, or capable of accomplishing, a result other than a mere topical coating of the impregnating particles onto the surfaces of the individual fibers.
In contrast, the method of the present invention in intended to deliver a substance into the interior, and not just onto the surface, of a material mass. The present invention utilizes a magnetic influence not merely as a substitute for an electrostatic means to charge fluid substances to opposite polarities, but as a means of effecting a linear organization and separation of the fluid molecules so as to greatly enhance the fluids' permeability through the surface and into the interior of a dense material mass such as a concrete structure. From the disclosure of the Brown patent, it is apparent that its method would not work on a solid concrete structure or similar material mass to create the necessary penetration of a substance into the interior of such a mass for assimilation throughout the interior of that mass. The method of the present invention, however, is intended and able to operate not merely upon the exterior surface of a structure such as the surface of a filament but rather to penetrate to the interior of a given mass for complete assimilation therethrough.